NVIDIA Mellanox MSB7890-ES2F Switch-IB 2 EDR 100Gb/s 36-Port QSFP28 InfiniBand 1U Switch: This is an externally managed 1U InfiniBand switch built on the Switch-IB 2 ASIC with 36 non-blocking QSFP28 ports operating at 100Gb/s EDR per port. The F suffix denotes forward airflow (connector-to-power), the standard direction for switches mounted with port side facing the cold aisle. This is an unmanaged-control-plane platform: subnet management must be provided by another Mellanox managed switch (MSB7800) or by host-based OpenSM. It is not a standalone managed fabric controller. This is a refurbished unit.
Engineering Context
The MSB7890-ES2F provides aggregate bidirectional throughput of 7.2 Tb/s across 36 EDR ports. Each QSFP28 port runs at 4 lanes of 25Gb/s NRZ for 100Gb/s line rate. Adaptive Routing and SHARP (Scalable Hierarchical Aggregation and Reduction Protocol) acceleration are supported in hardware via the Switch-IB 2 silicon. Cut-through latency is sub-90ns port-to-port. 1+1 redundant hot-swap PSUs and N+1 redundant hot-swap fans are standard. Power consumption is approximately 136W typical. Forward airflow is fixed in this SKU and cannot be reversed in field.
Deployment & Use Cases
HPC compute clusters running MPI workloads such as LAMMPS, GROMACS, OpenFOAM, and WRF. GPU-Direct RDMA fabrics for NVIDIA HGX/DGX systems where leaf switches need EDR connectivity to ConnectX-4/5 adapters. Storage backend networks for Lustre, GPFS, and BeeGFS over InfiniBand. Spine layer in two-tier fat-tree topologies where a separate switch supplies the subnet manager. Standard cabinets where the port side faces the cold aisle (forward airflow required).
Technical Specifications
OEM: NVIDIA Mellanox
Part Number: MSB7890-ES2F
ASIC: Switch-IB 2
Ports: 36 x QSFP28
Port Speed: 100Gb/s EDR InfiniBand
Aggregate Throughput: 7.2 Tb/s
Latency: Sub-90ns port-to-port (cut-through)
Management: Externally managed (no onboard subnet manager)
Airflow: Forward (C2P, connector-to-power)
Form Factor: 1U Rackmount
Power: 1+1 Redundant Hot-Swap PSU, ~136W typical
Condition: Refurbished — Tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Compatibility & Hard Constraints
Compatible with NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-4, ConnectX-5, and ConnectX-6 EDR/HDR100 adapters. Works with passive copper QSFP28 cables (MCP1600 series), MFA1A00-series active optical cables, and EDR transceivers. FDR-only HCAs will auto-negotiate down; full 100Gb/s requires EDR-capable adapters. Requires an external subnet manager — either a managed switch (e.g., MSB7800) or host-based OpenSM. Forward airflow only; do not mix with reverse-airflow ES2R units in the same airflow zone. InfiniBand-only — does not support standard Ethernet protocols.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS load-tests every InfiniBand switch for port integrity, PSU redundancy, fan health, and firmware boot before shipment. We provide expert consultation on EDR fabric design, global shipping with 1-3 day handling, and warranty backed by stocked spares. Visit tes-itsolutions.com for fabric architecture support.